Training

Words can fan the flames of conflict. But they can defuse them too.

Training Global Experts to Improve East-West Relations

The Challenge:  After the terrorist train bombings in Madrid in 2004 that claimed 191 lives, the United Nations was spurred to create a new initiative, the UN Alliance of Civilizations, to improve understanding and relations among nations and counter the forces that fuel polarization and extremism. The Alliance’s advisory group proposed creating a rapid-response media project that would help defuse the war of words that typically followed conflict and stem them before they spiral into further bloodshed.

Our Approach: Fenton helped conceptualize the media project from the ground up, including the creation of an online resource, Global Expert Finder (www.globalexpertfinder.org), for journalists seeking experts on global issues ranging from religion to the global economy. We analyzed news coverage to identify a set of perceptual frames that reinforce the “divide” between Muslim and Western communities, and used them to prepare workshops for global leaders so they learn to anticipate and address the heated points of view that often ignite around these issues.

Progress, Accelerated:  Fenton has trained hundreds of internationally recognized policy experts, religious leaders, and activists to frame the way they discuss East-West relations, including a group of British Muslim leaders, a gathering of the Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow, and at the Alliance of Civilization’s first annual forum in Madrid in 2008. These diverse leaders continue to inject much-needed voices of reason and moderation to the debate.